Transabdominal Cerclage Tips

Here are some helpful tips that you should consider before your TAC surgery.

Saturday Morning – Try to schedule the first appointment on the day of your surgery. If you can book a Saturday, I highly recommend it! There was no one in the surgery center when I checked-in and even after the surgery.

Fiber and probiotics – Dr. Haney’s surgery center will say no Colace prior to the surgery. Get those bowels moving around immediately after surgery. I was able to go number two the morning of the surgery. I usually go two to three times a day. I didn’t have a bowel movement until the following afternoon following surgery and it was not pleasant.

Try to be healthy and strong physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally – Coughing or laughing after surgery SUCKS. There’s no other way of putting it. Had I known how much upper body and leg strength I would need, I would have worked out my arms & legs more. I had already been doing yoga and walking around 3 miles a day prior to surgery but that wasn’t enough. I have been relying tremendously on my arm strength to get up out of bed. I also made the grave error of accidentally dropping a Colace on the floor near my dog. Good thing he did not get to it in time. My husband intercepted but it took a lot of strength to a.) yelp for my husband to grab the pill and b.) attempt to bend down and fail miserably at it.

Yoga breathing – The nurses at the surgery center repeated this to me several times and it really helped. Breathe in and exhale deeply before the surgery. When you’re being forced to get up to go to the bathroom and walk steps, use this yoga breathing to fight through it. You can do this!

Pray – I am a thinker and kept running through the possibilities of what could go wrong during the surgery. What if I die? I don’t even have a will established. What if I get extreme nausea and my incision bursts open? What if I they nick my ureter for real this time? What if my uterus will be damaged and then I will never be able to have children? Having faith knowing that this situation is bigger than you helps to put things in perspective.

Trust your TAC surgeon – With the help of some family members, friends, my husband (and a nice glass of white wine), I got a good kick in the arse. These people are professionals. Dr. Haney is a skilled surgeon that has been doing this for YEARS. He could probably do this surgery in his sleep. He is an expert for a reason. And above all, our trusty friend God is fighting for us always. Why bother attempting to drown yourself in worry before the swim has even begun? I declared, “Jesus, I trust you!” multiple times that week. I even said this while going under the anesthesia mask.